Michelle Obama mural in Chicago sparks plagiarism dispute

A mural of Michelle Obama as Cleopatra, painted by Chris Devins on a brick building in Chicago's South Side on April 21, 2017, has ignited a plagiarism controversy. Gelila Mesfin, an Ethiopian student in New York, accused Devins of copying her digital collage posted on Instagram in November 2016 under the handle thick_east_african_girl. Devins raised $12,000 for the mural and admitted finding Mesfin's image on Pinterest without attribution, but defended himself by claiming he is an urban planner, not an artist, and that his work involves remixing public-domain images. Mesfin's collage itself used a photograph by Collier Schorr published in The New York Times, creating a chain of appropriations. The dispute played out on Instagram and Twitter, with both parties reportedly seeking a resolution.